5 Branding Gurus in India and their Best Advertising Campaigns

One should not make any mistake about it; a loved and recognizable brand is definitely one of the most valuable assets of a company. And branding is more than just a cool logo or a good advertisement. Let’s find out how the top 5 branding gurus in India have done it with some of the amazing campaigns.

Piyush Pandey: The Man Behind the Dancing Girl at the Cricket Field

The ad industry’s favourite man with a moustache Piyush Pandey has captured the heart of the nation in the 1990’s. When he first arrived, the world of advertisement was a drab one. But then satellite TV happened and more clients were interested in television advertising. Pandey has always believed in storytelling and among his many successful ventures was the Cadbury advertisement. Not many know, but the Cadbury ad with the girl on a cricket pitch was one of the first ads where he wrote the lyrics and recorded a full-fledged song with jazzman Louis Banks. And the girl Shimona who was cast could not even dance! It won ‘The Campaign of the Century’ at the Advertising Club Bombay’s Abby Awards.

R Balakrishnan and how he showed ‘Daag Acche Hain’

You have marveled at some of his cinematic creations at ‘Pa’, ‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Padman’, but not many of us know that Balki had a successful advertisement stint at MullenLowe Lintas Group. In his own words, ‘storytelling happened, because nothing else happened’. The challenge for him was to bring out ideas day after day for different products. And his Surf Excel’s campaign ‘Daag Acche hain’ became viral in mid-2000s. Mostly featuring kids, these ads focused on the idea of helping others or making someone smile even when they are spoiling the clothes. The campaign was ‘Jaise Bhi Daag Ho, Surf Excel Hain Na’.

Prasoon Joshi and how he made everyone realize ‘Thanda Matlab Coca Cola’

When Prasoon Joshi joined McCann Ericksson, the agency was not known for his creative excellence; his first challenge was to change the perception of Coke from a song-and-dance driven communicator to a storyteller and the idea ‘Thanda Matlab Coca Cola’ was born. Consumer never look at advertising at silos, they look at it in a holistic manner. Joshi used a clever twist to two very common lingos ‘Kuch thanda lenge yaa garam?’ and the typical announcement of the hawkers in train stations ‘thanda thanda’. The idea was to position Coca Cola as a cool refreshing drink for the youth. And when you crave for something ‘thanda’ or cool, the immediate word that comes to the mind is Coca Cola. The series conceptualized by Prasoon dissolved boundaries and placed Coca Cola as ‘ a drink for everyone’.

Prahlad Kakkar: The Man who showed that branding is all about taking risks

Whenever you see a Pepsi ad, remember that there is only one man behind it. He is no one other than Prahlad Kakkar. The only propelling factor that has kept him passionate about ads is that he can never get enough of telling a story in 30 seconds in the most engaging manner. It was and still remains one of the effective ways to reach out to the masses. Who can dispute the fact that Pepsi is still ‘the right choice baby aha’. Bold, candid and often outrageous, Kakkar is all about taking risks. Be it a Kit Kat, Maggi or a Dhara, Kakkar has always come up with something new.

Sam Balsara

Sam Balsara turned 67 this year, but he still has the passion of a youngster. For him, safe advertising is a mistake. With over 30 years of experience in the advertising industry, the Founder, Chairman & the Director of the Madison World Sam Balsara has worked in one of the most influential political campaigns in India. He has worked with the Modi team and has come up with some brilliant ideas about Narendra Modi in his electoral campaign.